Red Mountain, Scapegoat Wilderness: Tallest Peak in the Bob Marshall Wilderness Complex

On the way up.

Gaining the ridge: the southern ridge to Red. The summit is just behind the peak in the upper-right.

We've had a good long stretch of gorgeous chilly/sunny late October weather here in southwest Montana. I took one of those days - pre-injury - to bag a peak that's been on my list for a while: Red Mountain in the Scapegoat Wilderness. Red Mountain is the tallest peak in the Bob Marshal Wilderness Complex, which includes the Bob, the Scapegoat, and the Great Bear, stretching from Highway 200 in the south to the southern boundary of Glacier Park in the north.

Rocky Mountain Front and Scapegoat Peaks on the way up.

I've been anxious to get in some more high country time, but the cold and snow we had in early October resulted in most of the high country in southwest Montana being snow choked. So I sent a  message to peak bagging guru and Geology Prof Steve Sheriff asking if he knew of some peaks with south facing ridges on which he thought I could still get up on top of something. He mentioned Red (as well as some others), so I went for it.

View west from the summit.

If you take the route to Red's summit that I did -- drive as far as you can up Copper Creek Road, which leaves Highway 200 heading northeast about 10-15 minutes north of Lincoln, then gain Red's south ridge and walk it to the summit -- it's very doable from Missoula in a day. It's an easy 1 and 3/4 hour drive and then the hike is about a 10 mile round trip. I left at 8.30 am and was home by 4.30 pm.

Looking south from the summit, back the way we'd come.

Looking north, deeper into the Scapegoat and Bob Marshall.